Meat-slitting machine



Dec. 3, 1940. J. P. $PANG MEAT-SLITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 V1! lnvenfon U05eph P. Spcmg Dec. 3, 1940.- J. P. SPANG MEAT-SLITTING MACHINE 4. Sheet-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 5, 1937 lnvenTot- Uoep-h Pspcmg byMMf ATTys Dec. 3, 1940'- 4 J. P. SPANG I 2 MEAT- SLITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lnvenTor.

QosephPSpQng ym Patented Dec. 3, 1940 PATENT OFFICE.

MEAT-SLITTING MAQHINE Joseph P. Spang, Quincy, Mass, assignor to Cube Steak Machine Company, Inc., Boston, Mass, a; corporation of Massachusetts Application December 3, 1937, Serial No. 177,957

' e Gla-ims. (01. 17-25) N This invention relatesto meat-slitting machine having a set of rotary-slitting knives and in which the meat to be slit is Supported on a meat-supporting tablethat is separable and detachable from the machine, and is adapted to be introduced into the machine at one side of the set of knives and to be fed through the machine beneath the knives, which thereby operate to slit the meat, and is-further adap ed to be discharged or removed from the machine at the other side of the knives.

In the operation of a meat-slitting machine of this type it is desirable that the meat-supporting 'plate withthe slice of meat thereon should be fed through the machine at a speed slower than the peripheral speed of the knives so that the latter will operate on the slice of meat with a :draw cut."

It is one of the objects of my present invention to provide novel means for thus feeding or controlling the movement of the meat-supporting plate through the machine.

In the drawings wherein I have illustrated some embodiments of my invention, 5 Fig. 1 is "a. vertical sectional view through a .meat-slitting machine embodying my invention; Fig.2 is a fragmentary plan view of the platefeeding means;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on a reduced scale showing the under side of the meat-supporting plate;

1 Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 1 but showing a different embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the platefeeding means shown in Fig'. 4.;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6, Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 isa fragmentary sectional View showing still a different embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the plate-feeding means illustrated in Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is a bottomside view of the meat-supporting plate shown in Fig. 7;

"Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view showing the means for adjusting the conveyer frame of Fig. 4.

Referring first to Fig. 1, l indicates the frame of the machine which is provided with a hollow of chambered base portion 2 adapted to house a motor 3 by which the knives are operated. Rising from each end of the frame is a standard or end member, one of which is shown at 4 in Fig. 1. These upstanding end members 4 provide a bearing for the knife shaft 5 on which is mounted a plurality of slitting knives 6. The knife shaft 4is shown as provided with a pulley 'l which is connected by a belt 8 to a pulley 9 on the motor shaft. The knives are thus rotate bythe motor in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1.

Ill indicates a cover or guard member which is supported on the uprights 4 and which covers and protects the knives 6.

ll indicates a meat-supporting plate which is separable and detachable from the machine and which supports the slice I2 of meat which is to be slit during the slitting operation. In the operation of the machine the plate I I with the slice l2 of meat thereon is introduced into the machine at one sidethereof (the right side inFig. 1) and is passed through the machine beneath the knives. the knives thereby operating to cut slits in the 'meat, and is then discharged from the machine at the other 'side thereof with the slit I plate is then passed through the machine a second time with the result that a second series of slits will be. cut in the meatat right angles to the slits of the first series. After the plate has been discharged it maybe removed with the slit slice of meat thereon.

[3 indicates fragmentarily a spring finger stripper member which engages the meat asit is being acted on by the knives and serves to hold the meat against the plate and prevent it from be-' ing'lifted therefrom by the knives. T

*The'p'arts thus far described may have substantially the same construction as that illustratedin my co-pending'application Serial No. 91,676, filedJuly 2x1, 1936.

In using a meat slitting' machine of this type it is very desirable that the knives should act on the meat'with'a draw out in order to make clean cut slits,'and, as stated above, the present invention relates to novel means for controlling the feeding movement of the "plate H so that the meat-wi11 be fed'beneath the knivesat a slower speed than'theperipheral speed of the'knives. This is accomplished herein by providing the machine with a plate-conveying device which positively moves the platethrough the machine at a predetermined speed. that is less than the peripheral speed of the knives. This conveyer may be constructed in various ways without departing from the invention. In Fig. l I have shown an endless conveyer I4 in the form of an endless apron which passes around two rolls I5, It. The rolls I5 and I 6 are journalled in and carried by a conveyer frame indicated generally at I! and which comprises two angle-iron side rails I8 that are suitably connected together and which are situated on either side of the endless apron I 4.

The roll I5 is positively driven and it serves to give the feeding movement to the upper run of the conveyer I4. Although any appreciable way of rotating the roll I5 may be employed I have shown herein a simple mechanism by which said roll is rotated from the knife shaft 5. The shaft 23 of the roll I5 has fast thereon a gear I9 which meshes with a gear on the knife shaft 5. The gear I9 has a considerably larger diameter than that of the roll I5 and as the gears I9 and 20 have about the same diameter the surface speed of the roll I5, and hence the speed of feeding movement of the upper run of the conveyer I4, will be much slower than the peripheral speed of the knives 6.

The endless conveyer I 4 and the meat-supporting plate II are constructed to have an interlocking engagement so that when the plate has been placed on the right-hand end of the conveyerthe latter will positively feed the plate forward beneath the knives at the same speed as that of the conveyer.

In Figs. 1 and 3 the meat-supporting plate II is shown as having a projection 2| depending from its under side and the conveyer has a plurality of apertures 22 adapted to receive said projection 2I. In the operation of the device the operator merely places the plate II with its slice I2 of meat thereon on the right-hand end of the continuously moving conveyer, and as soon as one of the apertures 22 comes into register with the projection 2| the latter will enter the aperture as shown in Fig. 1, this providing the interlocking engagement between the conveyer and the plate. The movement of the upper run of the conveyer in the direction of the arrow b moves the plate positively beneath the knives, thereby making slits in the meat, and as the feeding movement of the plate is slower than the peripheral speed of the knives the latter will act on the meat with the desired draw cut.

The meat-supporting plate is shown assquare and has a diametrical dimension such that the edges of the plate will rest on the horizontal legs'of the angle-iron members I8 of the conveyer frame I! as shown in Fig. 2 wherein the plate II is indicated in dotted lines. These angle-iron members I8 extend somewhat beyond the conveyer at the discharge end (the left-hand end in Figs. 1 and 2) and hence after the plate II has been fed past the knives, and as it reaches the left-hand end of the conveyer, said plate is fed onto the extended portions of the rails l8 as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 1. As the portion of the conveyer having the aperture 22 therein passes around the roll I5 the plate will beautomatically disengaged from the conveyer and will remain on the extended portions of the rails I8. The roll I5 has the portion 9| of reduced diameter inthe path of travel of the pin 2| .so as to avoid any engagement of said pin with the roll during the feeding movement of the plate II. After the plate has been delivered to the extended portions of the rails I8, the operator may then remove the plate from the rails for the purpose of again placing it into the machine at the right-hand side in order to make the second set of slits in the meat at right angles to those of the first set, and when the plate has made its second pass through the machine with the meat thereon. then it and the slit slice of meat carried thereby may be removed from the extended portion of the rails I8.

The conveyer frame I1 is preferably made adjustable in a vertical direction so as to provide for varying the depth of the slits which are out in the meat. As shown in Fig. 1 the shaft 23 of the roll I5 is journalled in the uprights 4 at the ends of the frame and the conveyer frame I I is mounted so that it can be turned about the shaft 23 as an axis. At the right-hand end of the conveyer frame the rails I8 are connected by a yoke 24 which extends around the conveyer belt. This yoke carries an adjustable screw 25 which engages a cam member 26 pivotally mounted on the frame at 21, said cam being provided with a handle 28 by which it may be turned. By turning this cam the right-hand end of the conveyer frame may be raised or lowered, said frame turning about the shaft 23 as an axis during the rising or falling movement. This provides a simple device for giving vertical adjustment to the conveyer.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown an endless belt conveyer having a slightly different construction from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In said Figs. '7 and 8 the endless conveyer belt is indicated at I la and it passes around the rolls I5 and I6 as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the roll I5 being the driven roll. The conveyer belt I la, however, is provided with a plurality of ribs 30 which extend transversely thereof, and the meat-supporting plate Ila is provided on its under side with a plurality of depending pins or projections 21a which are adapted to be engaged by the ribs 30 as seen in Fig. '7, thereby providing the interlocking engagement between the plate and the conveyer.

These ribs 30 may be provided for in various ways, and as herein illustrated the conveyer apron I la has secured to it a plurality of angleshaped members, one leg of each of which rests on and is secured to the apron Ma and the other leg of which provides the rib30.

In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 I have illustrated an embodiment of the invention in which the conveyer is in the form of a roller conveyer rather than an endless belt conveyer. In this embodiment of the invention the conveyer frame is indicated at Ila and it comprises two connected side rails I8a which extend between the upright portions 4 of the frame. Carried by these rails l8 are a series of positively driven conveyer rolls 33, 4'! which support the meat-supporting plate I Ib and feed it past the knives 6. C'onveyer rolls 33, 41 are shown as being driven from the knife shaft 5, for which purpose said shaft has a gear 34 thereon which meshes with and drives a gear 35 on the shaft 36 of the roll 41, and the other conveyer rolls 33 are shown as connected to the driven roll 4! by means of a sprocket chain drive. In Fig. 4 the shaft 35 of'the roll 41 extends into and is journalled in the upright portions 4 of the frame and said shaft has the gear 35 fast thereon. The shaft 36 of roll 4'! is also provided with a sprocket wheel 3? which drives a sprocket chain 38 that has engagement with the sprocket wheels 39 carried by the shafts of each of the other conveyer rolls 33.

The conveyor frame I? is thus pivotally mounted in the machine on the shaft 36 and means are provided for adjusting said frame about the shaft 36 to raise and lower the conveyer relative to the knives 6. The two rails l8a of the conveyer frame are connected by a cross piece- 40 which carries an L-shaped member 4|, the horizontal arm 42 of which extends into a cam slot 43 formed in a cam member 44 that is pivotally mounted at 45 to the frame. This cam member 44 has the handle 46 by which it may be turned and the turning movement thereof will produce a movement of the conveyer frame about the shaft 36 at an axis by which the depth of the slits cut in the meat can be controlled. This cam 44 also serves to hold the conveyer frame in its adjusted position.

The conveyer roll 41 at the entering end is shown as provided with portions 48 of rubber which provide a frictional engagement with the under side of the plate lib, and I will preferably employ presser rolls 49 to act on the upper face of the plate I lb at its edges in order to maintain a firm contact between said plate and the rubber surface 48 of the feed roll. These presser rolls 49, there being one at each end of the conveyer roll 41, are shown as mounted on studs 50 which are supported in extensions i with which the rails Illa of the conveyer frame are provided. In using the device illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6 the meat-supporting plate lib with the slice I 2 of meat thereon is placed on the right-hand end of the conveyer frame and is fed. into position between the conveyer roll 41 and the presser rolls 49. The frictional engagement of the rubber portion 48 of the conveyer rolls 4'! with the plate Ilbfeeds the latter forwardly at a speed which is less than the peripheral speed of the knives so that the latter act on the meat with a draw out. As the plate moves forward it is engaged by the other conveyer rolls 33 which continue the feeding movement of the plate, and when the plate is discharged from the rolls 33 it passes onto horizontal flanges 52 extending inwardly from the extended portions of the rails Ilia of the conveyer frame.

In order to assist in holding the meat on the meat-supporting plate I propose to provide said plate with a plurality of apertures 53 which extend entirely through the, plate. When the meat is resting on the apertured plate and is pressed against it by the stripper member l3 the meat will be crowded into the apertures 53 somewhat thereby forming a sort of interlocking connection between the meat and the plate which will prevent the meat form slipping off from the plate during the meat-slitting operation.

I claim:

1. A meat-slitting machine comprising a set of rotary knives, means to rotate the knives, a meat-supporting plate separable from the machine and adapted to support the slice of meat to be slit, a pivotally mounted conveyor frame adapted to have a bodily swinging movement about its pivotal axis, a conveyor nonadjustably mounted on said conveyor frame and adapted to receive said plate and convey it past the knives, and conveyor-operating means which operate to actuate the conveyor in any adjusted position of the conveyor frame.

2. A meat-slitting machine comprising a set of rotary knives, means to rotate the knives, a pivotally mounted conveyor frame capable of having bodily swinging movement about its pivotal axis, for adjusting the frame toward and from the knives, a conveyor nonadjustably mounted on the conveyor frame and adapted to ,chine frame, a set of knives rotatably mounted thereon, means to rotate the knives, a shaft carried by the frame parallel to the knife axis, a conveyor frame pivotally mounted on said shaft to swing toward and from the knives, a conveyor nonadjustably mounted on said conveyor frame and adapted to carry the slice of meat to be slit past the knives, a drive roll on said shaft for operating the conveyor, driving connections between said shaft and the knives, and means for adjusting the conveyor frame about its pivotal axis.

4. A meat-slitting machine comprising a machine frame, a set of knives rotatably mounted thereon, means to rotate the knives, a shaft carried by the frame parallel to the knife axis, a conveyor frame pivotally mounted on said shaft to swing toward and from the knives, an endless conveyor nonadjustably mounted on said conveyor frame and adapted to carry the slice of meat to be slit past the knives, a drive roll on said shaft for operating the conveyor, driving connections between said shaft and the knives, and means for adjusting the conveyor frame about its pivotal axis.

5. A meat-slitting machine comprising a machine frame, a set of rotary knives mounted thereon, means to rotate the knives, a rotatable shaft mounted in' the frame and extending parallel to the axis of the knives, a conveyor frame pivotally mounted on said shaft, an endless conveyor mounted on said conveyor frame, a feed roll on said shaft for actuating said conveyor, a meat-supporting plate separable from the machine and adapted to support the slice to be slit, said plate being adapted also to be fed past the knives by the conveyor, a projection depending from said plate and having interlocking engagement with the conveyor, driving connections between the knives and said shaft, and means to adjust the conveyor frame about its pivotal axis, thereby to vary the depth of the slits made in the meat.

6. A meat-slitting machine comprising a machine frame, a set of rotary knives mounted thereon, means to rotate the knives, a rotatable shaft mounted in the frame and extending parallel to the axis of the knives, a conveyor frame pivotally mounted on said shaft, a roller conveyor on said conveyor frame comprising a series of rolls and driving connections between said rolls and said shaft by which the rolls are positively rotated from the shaft, driving connections between said shaft and the knives by which the shaft is rotated from the knives, and means to adjust the conveyor frame about its pivotal 

